China Brings Hope to Developing Countries

Youssef Shawky Magdy

In 2022， the Communist Party of China （CPC） celebrates its 101st anniversary and will convene its 20th National Congress. Under the leadership of the CPC， China is moving closer to the center of the world stage. At the same time， the Arab people， especially the vast majority of the young people， are increasingly aware that neoliberalism and capitalism encounter failure in the Middle East in that they are problematic， brutally exploiting the laborers and the poor， while unable to solve major problems. Neoliberalism has bredbarbarism， exploitation， poverty， backwardness， unemployment， environmental destruction， terrorism， racism and extremism. The Arab world is going through a difficult transition， where all regional countries are looking forward to finding a development path that is more compatible with their contexts and more people-oriented.

With the rise of China， the ties between Arab countries such as Egypt and China continue to strengthen， and the Arab people are eager to learn more about China and the CPC. Against this backdrop， where will the relations between China and Arab countries and that between China and Middle East countries go？ What are the opportunities and challenges facing Chinas relations with regional countries？ How will the two sides drive the region to achieve new development visions and goals？ These are important questions worth our in-depth reflection.

CHINAS RISE STEMS FROM STRONG LEADERSHIP OF CPC

China has made remarkable achievements and is constantly rising， which is not possible without the strong leadership of the CPC. For more than 100 years， the CPC has faced challenges head-on and forged ahead with an indomitable fighting spirit， and has thus achieved one success after another.

The CPC led Chinas new democratic revolution and secured the final victory， establishing the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since then， the CPC has been committed to building a strong socialist country， vigorously developing productive forces， and improving the living standards of all the Chinese people. These goals have never been changed; they just have different forms in different stages.

In 1978， China began to implement the policy of reform and opening up， blazing the trail of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has introduced market mechanisms， and increased efforts to attract foreign investment， especially in the field of advanced technology. Under the leadership of the CPC， the Chinese government formulates detailed development plans every five years and adjusts them according to changing circumstances. The imperialist countries attempt to contain Chinas development， but facts have repeatedly proven that China is gradually approaching its scheduled goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035 and building a great modern socialist country that is prosperous， strong， democratic， culturally advanced， harmonious and beautiful by the middle of the century.

The CPC has led the Chinese people in building a prosperous and strong country and achieving national rejuvenation. Its great achievements are not only successes in economic development. Fundamentally speaking， Chinas success is at a political and social level， which stems from the fact that the CPC found a development path suitable for China， successfully combined the basic tenets of Marxism with Chinas contexts and the needs of the times， and formed Mao Zedong Thought and the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics， especially Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era， the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

The success of the CPC is also reflected in the realization of major national development goals by absorbing and utilizing capitalist elements. Based on maintaining the dominant position of public ownership， China has established a market mechanism， which enables the country to limit the monopoly tendency of capital and enables capital to serve the development of the country. The CPC attaches great importance to the protection of the cultural identity of the nation and Chinese cultural heritage as the root of national unity and the soul of national harmony. Under the strong leadership of the CPC， China has made remarkable achievements in economic and social development， built a moderately prosperous society in all respects， and completed the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty. It emphasized that the peoples rights and interests in education and medical care will continue to be guaranteed. China faces many difficulties and obstacles in its journey to achieve the above-mentioned goals. It is not possible to overcome these difficulties without the close ties between the CPC and the Chinese people. In the face of various risks and challenges， the Chinese people are closely united around the CPC and firmly support its leadership of the CPC. At the same time， the CPC attaches great importance to self-purification and removes those corrupt elements from the Party without hesitation. It has been working ceaselessly to improve Party conduct and enforce Party discipline， by bringing to justice not only the “tigers” but also the “flies”.

U.S. IS THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF UNREST

Since the end of the Cold War， neoliberalism has dominated the world until the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008， with its repercussions lingering to this day. In the process， monopoly capitalism has become the enemy of the people of all countries in the world. The oppressed classes and people have risen to resist， hoping to realize national development and social justice.

In 1992， American political scientist Francis Fukuyama advocated the “end of history”. This theorys historical and ideological roots lie in the fact that capitalism has monopolized the globe since the late 19th century， with the United States emerging from the two world wars. Neoliberalism seeks to maximize profit and turns a blind eye to the social and environmental disasters it causes. Along with the rise of neo-liberal rhetoric， the neo-colonial theory is also rampant. Colonialism today is in essence the same as colonialism of the past， only with a different approach. Neocolonialism brutally oppresses peoples of the world， depriving them of their right to a decent life and to free themselves from poverty， ignorance and diseases.

But Fukuyama retracted his opinion several times as he found that， under the neoliberal order， peace had not come to the world and that the well-being of humanity had not been improved. On the contrary， the western capitalist countries led by the United States have been provoking wars， such as the wars in Afghanistan， Iraq and Syria. The United States also provides support to many terrorist organizations around the world， especially in Iraq， Syria， Egypt， Libya， and East Africa. The United States also attempted to overthrow the Venezuelan regime， deliberately intensified tensions in the South China Sea， and hindered peaceful development in the Middle East， Latin America， and the Asia-Pacific region.

In the name of fighting terrorism and defending human rights， the United States has been interfering in other countries internal affairs. The United States has resorted to religious extremist organizations to attack countries in the Middle East， launched heinous wars in many countries in the region， and wantonly violated human rights. Under the hegemony of the United States， the living conditions of ordinary people in developing countries and beyond continued to deteriorate， the number of slums continued to increase， and the people of third world countries fell victim to poverty， ignorance and diseases. The people of Arab countries are indignant at the practices of U.S. imperialism， and they have increasing aspirations to deal with countries， as China， with no colonial will or provocative interventions.

CHINA-MIDDLE EAST COOPERATING IN MUTUAL BENEFIT

Middle East countries， especially the Arab countries， are important components of developing countries and important participants in international cooperation initiatives proposed by China. In recent years， China has put forward a series of initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind， which has been widely supported by Arab countries including Egypt. On the basis of mutual benefit and win-win results， China has continuously increased its investment in developing countries， especially those with weak infrastructure， and initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB）. Unlike the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund， two financial institutions controlled by the United States， the AIIB never attaches political strings to any investment and financing projects.

China places great importance on the development of communication networks and has cooperated with many third world countries. In the process of cooperation， all parties can realize long-term interests and promote their infrastructure construction and industrialization. However， the results of Chinas international cooperation have dissatisfied the imperialist countries. They seize every opportunity to attack and smear China， accusing China of attempting to control the resources of developing countries and creating the so-called debt traps.

We must ask： what motivates the vast number of developing countries to carry out economic cooperation with China？ China has never imposed restrictions， embargos or sanctions on countries unwilling to cooperate with it， nor has it used international institutions to attach strings to other countries financing projects like the imperialist countries. China has never asked other countries to make political commitments in cooperation， nor has it asked other countries to develop relations with it at the expense of its alliance or strategic relationship with the United States.

In sharp contrast， the United States often imposes restrictions and sanctions on countries that cooperate with China， which often come with support from some international financial institutions. Despite this， the number of countries conducting cooperation with China is still growing. As we all know， China has always adhered to the principles of peaceful coexistence， mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity in its exchanges with third world countries， especially Arab countries. These lofty principles were gradually formed from the century-long struggle of the CPC， and are the common aspirations of China and most countries.

China has always been committed to promoting the industrialization of Arab countries， helping them create more employment opportunities and achieve sustainable development. At the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2018， China proposed to actively promote China-Arab cooperation driven by two wheels， namely oil and gas cooperation and low-carbon energy cooperation and two wings， which are financial cooperation and collaboration on new and high technology. On top of this， the “1+2+3” China-Arab cooperation pattern proposed by China has also served to advance pragmatic cooperation between China and Arab states at a higher level.

Satisfied with the fruitful cooperation with China， Arab countries are looking forward to furthering deepening cooperation， especially in the fields of medical care， education and poverty alleviation. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic， China has actively provided vaccine assistance to Arab countries and offered help in areas like talent training and technology transfer. It is hoped that China will implement more development projects for ordinary people in Arab countries， to bridge the growing economic divide between developed and developing countries.

Chinas cooperation with Middle East countries， including Arab countries， should not stop there. Rather， it should also extend to areas like combating terrorism. China also faces counter-terrorism and de-radicalization challenges as some imperialist countries attempt to fuel terrorism and extremism in Chinas Xinjiang. Chinas experience demonstrates that achieving sustainable development is an effective way to eliminate the root causes of terrorism， and continuously improving peoples living standards and social welfare is the fundamental strategy to curb the growth of extremist ideology in the soil of poverty and ignorance. Some Arab countries are following the same path. For instance， Egypt has implemented many development projects in North Sinai and South Sinai. In the field of culture， thanks to the persistent efforts to communicate Chinese cultures by institutions like Confucius Institutes， the people of Arab countries， especially the young people， have a better understanding of China. Through concerts and joint art activities， the cultural exchanges between Arab countries and China have become increasingly frequent， and the personnel exchanges between the two sides have also effectively promoted people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The two sides should further innovate the way of exchanges and communication， such as setting up new non-governmental organizations， communicating Chinese culture by expanding social participation， setting up schools， and training institutions and supporting small development projects so as to enhance mutual understanding and deepen friendship.

Over the past 100-plus years， the CPC has achieved remarkable success. The Egyptian Communist Party is convinced that the CPC will surely make a greater contribution to promoting the new development of Marxism in the 21st century.

Youssef Shawky Magdy is Member of the Youth Secretariat， Egyptian Communist Party